Samsula area residents hear about proposed Publix

If a Publix gets built at the northeast corner of Airport Road and Pioneer Trail, Ruth Benedict said she could walk to it.

By Richard Connrichard.conn@news-jrnl.com

SAMSULA — If a Publix gets built at the northeast corner of Airport Road and Pioneer Trail, Ruth Benedict said she could walk to it. Benedict, who has lived on Airport Road for 39 years, said she wouldn’t mind having a 47,000-square-foot grocery store near her home.“I’m for it,” she said.Benedict was one a small group of residents who showed up to the SNPJ Lodge in Samsula where representatives tied to the proposed development Pioneer Square answered questions about the project. There didn’t appear to be any opposition from those who attended the informal meeting.Developer Sheldon Rubin is asking county officials for a small-scale comprehensive plan amendment and for the 9.6 acres at the intersection to be rezoned from its current agricultural designation to planned-business-unit development. James Stowers, an attorney representing Rubin, said he hopes the Volusia Planning and Land Development Regulation Commission will consider the requests next month. The County Council would have the ultimate say on the project. Stowers said a petition supporting Pioneer Square, which in addition to the grocery store would have a small out-parcel that could house a bank, has the signatures of more than 900 residents. Stowers said the grocery store would serve 5,100 homes within three miles of the site. That number could swell to more than 11,000 homes in the next 20 years, he told the New Smyrna Beach City Commission during a presentation about the development last week. While Pioneer Square is outside New Smyrna Beach’s city limits, city commissioners said after the presentation that they don’t oppose the project.Rubin first proposed a development on the site that would have featured a Publix in 2010. While the requested comprehensive plan amendment for the site was initially approved by the Volusia County Council by a 4-3 vote in July 2010, the city of Port Orange, Woodhaven developer Mori Hosseini and developer of Venetian Bay, Jerry Johnson, all petitioned the County Council’s decision. Both Hosseini and Johnson had talked to Publix about opening stores in their developments, and Hosseini in particular expressed concerns then that Rubin’s development would hamper his chances of landing a Publix in Woodhaven. Council members Carl Persis and Pat Northey later changed their minds, as both cited concerns about how the development could impact the area’s rural character. Rubin agreed to a settlement in November 2010 that limited his development on the property at 50,000 square feet with every building capped at 15,000 feet. However, because the agreement would have limited Rubin’s ability to attract a grocery store, he asked the council to rescind its July 2010 decision, which they did. Stowers said while Woodhaven will be a regional draw, similar to the Pavilion at Port Orange, Pioneer Square is a “different market.”“It’s a local grocery store for local people,” he said. The Pioneer Square development would be outside the so-called Samsula local plan, an area carved out years ago by county officials to guide future growth and limit types of development in the community to protect its rural character.